Editor’s note: This story was updated at 12:14 p.m. on Feb. 28 to correct that there will be full-day northbound lane closures starting at 9 p.m. on March 7 and continuing through March 10 at 5 a.m., not daily overnight closures from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

 

The James River Bridge will see full-day closures of its northbound lanes starting March 7 to facilitate repairs to the steel grid deck that spans the drawbridge. 

According to a public notice published in the Feb. 19 print edition of The Smithfield Times, both lanes that facilitate northbound traffic from Isle of Wight County to Newport News will close starting at 9 p.m. on March 7 and will reopen by 5 a.m. on March 10.

The southbound lanes will remain open. Maritime traffic will not be impacted.

According to Virginia Department of Transportation spokeswoman Brittany McBride Nichols, the project is focused on replacing one of the steel panels in the grid deck, which she said is designed to distribute traffic loads across the bridge’s structural supports.

“This type of deck is commonly used in movable bridges to provide durability while maintaining the necessary weight limitations for lift operations,” she said.

During the closure, northbound traffic will be detoured through Suffolk across the Godwin Bridge to the I-664 interchange and the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge Tunnel.

VDOT has selected March 14-17 and March 21-24 as backup dates for the overnight closures in the event of inclement weather.

The James River Bridge previously saw multi-day closures last year from Jan. 12-15 and from Feb. 2-5 to facilitate the replacement of 80 2-inch-thick wire cables original to the 41-year-old drawbridge.

McBride said that while some other maintenance was addressed during the 2024 closures, this particular grid deck panel was not in need of repair at the time, which is why the work wasn’t completed last year.

“This issue developed several months after the ropes replacement project and was identified during a recent inspection where notable wear in one of the bridge’s grid deck panels was found,” she said. “With safety as our top priority, VDOT has been performing ongoing inspections and temporary repairs to ensure the bridge’s safety for motorists, as the grid deck replacement was being fabricated and plans were developed to complete the more long-term solution in March.”